One movie that can never be shown on basic cable or network TV: "Reservoir Dogs"

I mean, when the word "f*ck" is used 252 times, it's not like cutting a nude scene. That much bleeping would be a tad distracting.

(Let me check IMDB again, though. How many times is the word used in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back?" Ah, 228 times. Wimps.)

I watched this indie classic again recently while on a train. Yep, a train. You can keep your fancy flying machines and horseless carriages. Locomotives are the real wave of the future. (Said the man who watched the movie on his portable DVD player.)

Not sure what compelled me to grab Quentin Tarantino's full-length debut for the ride, but, as usual, I wasn't disappointed. No question "Pulp Fiction" is his best work, and I thought the "Kill Bill" movies were pretty entertaining. But there's something undeniable about the raw-retro style of "Reservoir Dogs." C'mon ... there's a reason a million video store clerks have tried to copy it, even if Tarantino -- a video store clerk -- was copying and mixing a whole bunch of stuff himself.

In simple terms, our story is about a diamond heist gone bad, and the group that came together for it falling apart. But Tarantino's emphasis on character quirks and non-linear storytelling -- we jump from before the heist to afterward, then back and forth learning about different players while post-heist events unfold -- are pretty impressive. Think about it ... have you ever heard someone talk about "Reservoir Dogs" by calling it a heist movie? Not really. Instead, you get a bevy of iconic images and memorable scenes/lines, such as ...

1. The characters having aliases that are colors -- Mr. White, Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange -- borrowed from "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three."
2. The characters all wearing black suits, white shirts and black ties, taken from some Japanese movie.
3. The Mexican standoff, also taken from Japanese movies.
4. The Madonna "Like a Virgin" explanation by Tarantino.
5. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi, in his breakout role) and his no-tipping policy. ("I got two words for that: learn to f*ckin' type.")

And then we have Michael Madsen, who may have been cursed by this role.

Pretty much everyone is great here -- Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Chris Penn, Tim Roth, Lawrence Tierney. But Madsen as the psychotic Mr. Blonde has always stuck in my memory. Not just the obvious lines -- "Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?" -- but the general smirk and quiet combination of bloodlust and glee he carries around. I mean, after he and Keitel's Mr. White almost go at it -- thanks to the "doggy" line -- Blonde follows up with this: "I bet you're a big Lee Marvin fan, aren't ya? Yeah, me too." Now that's funny.

Of course, Madsen's most famous scene has him giving a cop the Vincent Van Gogh treatment while "Stuck in the Middle with You" played on the radio, which was more than a little startling the first time around. But overall, this fraternity of crooks things is incredibly well done, and I enjoyed "Reservoir Dogs" as much as ever. Now if I could just find K-Billy on my car stereo ...